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Friday, May 2, 2008

Splendid Suns - Introduction

A Thousand Splendid Suns is about Kabul, Afghanistan. It's also about two women. However, let's start with the poem from which the title is taken:

KABUL(Translated by Dr. Josephine Davis)

Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountainsAnd Rose, of the trails of thorns she enviesHer gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyesBut I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dustMy song exhalts her dazzling tulipsAnd at the beauty of her trees, I blushHow sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Bastaan!May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!

Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach ParadiseFor her mountains brought him close to the delights of heavenFrom the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protectionEach stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan

Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eyeThrough the bazaars, caravans of Egypt passOne could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofsAnd the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowersHer nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hairHer melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songsArdent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats

And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of SharbaraAnd even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures ---Saib-e-Tabrizi 17th Century

This poet obviously loved Kabul, and thought of the city as a beautiful woman.

Remember this personification when you read the book. There's a real disconnect between the loving description of a woman in this poem, and the women in the book.